Ebony Bliss
by Hotaru Winner
Summary: Kenshin gets trapped in a world of darkness and evil that was thought only to exist in the minds of writers. In a battle of strength, will, and endurence against a desperate vampire, who will come out on top?
1. Default Chapter

Ebony Bliss

Rating: PG-13 for the first two or three parts, definitely R later on

Spoilers: If you haven't seen the OVA and you don't want to know anything about it until you can see it, then you probably won't want to read past the first chapter. There are going to be some references to people and situations that happened throughout them but other then that it should be safe.

Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters and a somewhat original plot. If it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that. 

Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it

Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com; I'd love to hear what you have to say!

  
  


Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do. 

  
  


Now onto the ficcy!

  
  


Chapter 1

  
  


The twilight crept silently to cover the small temple. The residents were beginning to settle down, putting away their work and ending hours of practice. Dinner was being consumed between bouts of laughter and cheerful conversations. Playful teasing and affectionate taunts were just as fulfilling as the actually meal. Food was able to replenish the body but it took the feelings of friendship, joy, and love to build up their souls.

Ebony rested outside on a tree branch, enjoying the cooling breezes after a sweltering day of restless sleep. Summer days drove her mad with the dripping humidity. Her pale ivory skin seemed to be constantly glistening with an extra layer of perspiration. Her mint green eyes, an odd contrast to her black hair, scanned the area around her. After plucking a small sparrow from its nest, she drained it of all life and let the body fall to the ground. Some color returned to her normally gaunt cheeks, her thirst quenched for the moment. It was hunger, that never-ending quest for survival that had brought her to that home, miles from where she belonged. 

If the rumors were correct, a different sort of manslayer was residing between those walls. If his talents were even half as magnificent as the stories surrounding him, her people would be able to leave their lives of fear and starvation in the past. The population of her children of darkness had swollen to a nearly painful number. However, their tender hearts still held on to the humane feelings of mercy, pity, and a fear of taking life. The burden of feeding hundreds had fallen to her and her sword and she could no longer handle things on her own. 

She heard the door open and peered down into the courtyard. A tall man was resting in the doorway, fingers intertwined behind his dark head. The sight of his dark hair made her frown. He was much too large and too casual looking to be the agile samurai she was seeking. The bruised fists and other scratches marring his features confirmed her first assumption. He must be a street fighter of some sort, a man whose brutality and ego would swell so out of proportion that death would fall him before hunger ever would. He would be no use to her but his value of his companions may present a problem she would rather avoid dealing with.

"Sanosuke!" She heard a woman's shrill voice cry from inside the dwelling, "You lazy good-for-nothing freeloader!" A frying pan came flying out of the doorway "You're the only one not doing any work around this place and you still expect me to feed you. You could at least help do the dishes! Sanosuke, are you listening to me?"

Ebony found herself become more and more curious about what he would do to retaliate then she expected to be. She had seen the girl on one of her earlier visits. She was rather attractive but nothing too special to speak of. She possessed no abilities that Sanosuke wouldn't be able to easily overcome.

Half expecting him to retaliate and half expecting him to give in and do the work, she wasn't at all expecting him to get up silently and leave the premises without so much as a simple goodbye. Silent and probably deadly, she bit her lip before darting off into the shadows behind him. He wasn't what she was looking for but it would be best to evaluate the possible obstacles before she made any further moves towards her final goal.

Kenshin Himura looked up from the pile of laundry he was tending to. The fresh summer air was tickling his nose, filling all of his senses with the fragrance of fresh flowers and cool water. Even doing his chores became a pleasure when he could feel the warm sunshine caressing his skin and the smooth earth below his naked foot. It was days like this that made him remember her and that small garden on the side of a mountain...

"Uncle Kenny!" Ayame came running over with her hands cupped in front of her, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, snapping out of his memories, "Are you hurt?"

Suzume came running up behind her older sister, her eyes red and nose running. "Uncle Kenny make it better." She sniffled

"Make what better?" Kenshin reached out to open up Ayame's hands only to find a dead sparrow. "I'm sorry girls, but there's not much I can do anymore. The bird died awhile ago."

Suzume began to cry again. "Shh," Kenshin cradled her to him and tried to sooth her cries "We'll have to burry it. That way it can rest in peace and be reborn as something beautiful in its next life."

"Beautiful like a butterfly?" Ayame asked, studying the fluttering insects that inhabited the gardens

"Butterfly?" Suzume wiped away the tears and gazed up at Kenshin.

"Maybe." He smiled at the two of them "Why don't you go see if Kaoru will let you have a shovel so we can dig a grave."

The two girls nodded and ran off to the other side of the dojo where Kaoru and Yahiko were practicing diligently with the wooden swords that were used in the Kamiya Kasshin style. Kenshin picked up the bird, turning it around in his hand to try to find the cause of the death. The look on its face was one of pure terror, a look he had seen far too often. The animal hadn't died from any natural causes. Upon closer inspection, he found the two puncture marks on the sparrow's throat. They were too far apart to have been caused by a cat or any other predator that was around the area. Something was definitely wrong.

The two girls came running back to him with a small garden trowel and the simple funeral began. The two girls prayed earnestly over the small hole, throwing their wishes for a new life as a butterfly into the freshly turned soil while Kenshin kept a close eye on their surroundings. The girls played in the same areas every day and they weren't likely to miss anything like a dead animal. It mostly likely had been killed the previous night which meant the creature responsible was probably still around. 

It took him a moment to notice the two girls looking at him "Uncle Kenny, is something wrong?" Ayame stuck the small cross they had made out of two sticks into the ground to mark the grave.

"What's wrong?" Suzume took his hand

He smiled down at the two of them "Nothing is wrong, I was just praying for a safe travel and rebirth for the sparrow. We've done everything we can so what do you say we go make lunch?"

"Mmm…rice balls!" Suzume clapped her hands and ran ahead with Ayame "We'll go tell everyone!" 

Kenshin waited until they were out of site before he quickly dug up the body of the bird to put in the house until after he escorted the two girls and Doctor Genzai home. He wanted to talk to Sanosuke about his suspicions and needed the body as proof. "Kenshin!" He heard Kaoru call "Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there!" He called back before taking off running.

  
  
  
  


* Yes, I know I'm combining religions here, but from the research I did online, at the time of the Mejii Era, Christianity was making a comeback and Mayhayana Busshism was still prominent. I didn't know what they would do for a funeral either but in the OVA, when the young Kenshin creates graves for all of the slaves and traders that were slane, he used crosses. If anyone has any insight on this, let me know and I'll be happy to make the corrections.*


	2. Chapter II

Ebony Bliss

Rating: PG-13 for the most part…maybe R later on

Spoilers: If you haven't seen the OVA and you don't want to know anything about it until you can see it, then you probably won't want to read past the first chapter. There are going to be some references to people and situations that happened throughout them but other then that it should be safe.

Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters, a somewhat original plot…if it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that. 

Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it

Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerousminds.com, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

  
  


Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do. 

  
  


Chapter 2

  
  


Ebony was resting up in the tree that had hid her for the past week. Dusk was taking longer and longer to come upon the land but once it finally arrived, she was free to stalk down her pray for another night. The group had eaten their dinner on the porch of the dojo that night and she had finally gotten a good look at the man formally known as the Battousai. 

His woman and the young boy were lighthearted enough to make up for the two quiet men. Hitokiri Battousai had his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, making her smile slightly. As careful as she had been with her mission, her presence had not gone unnoticed. She had expected no less from a man with his history. She gently rubbed her thumb over her own sword and let out a small sigh. Ebony would have rather revealed herself to him without the audience of his friends but she would have to make due with the situation she had been given. She picked up a small stone and threw it at the pole nearest them, watching him jump up, ready to leap into action. "Let's see what you're really capable of." She smiled and waited for what she knew was to come.

Kenshin sat against the wall of the dojo, watching the area behind Kaoru and Yahiko carefully. Sanosuke had caught his distracted mood rather quickly and was eyeing the area just as suspiciously. "Keep stuffing your face." Yahiko stuck his tongue out at Kaoru "It will only make you fat and uglier, as impossible as that seems."

"That's right." Kaoru flipped a strand of her hair back over her shoulder "The idea of a girl like me ever being ugly is unthinkable."

Yahiko rolled over, clutching his sides to keep them from exploading with laughter "Stupid, you're so ugly already that there's no way you could get any worse."

"What did you say?" Kaoru reached over to yank on his cheek and another heated battle between the two of them began, keeping them from noticing the focused looks on their older friend's faces. 

Kenshin was about to relax his grip on the hilt when he heard the small thud of something hitting the wall of the dojo. "Who's there?" He hopped to his feet, drawing his reverse blade sword from its sheath. "I know you're out there. Show yourself now!"

"Maybe it was just a passing carriage or something." Sano spoke up after a moment of silence.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru reached up to touch his shoulder, only to find him tense and ready for a battle.

"Miss Kaoru, get yourself and Yahiko inside." He spoke under his breath "I don't have a clue about what's out there but they've been here watching us for quite some time now."

"Three weeks actually." They all focused in on the darkness by the forest as it slowly took on a human form.

"Who are you?" Yahiko demanded "What do you think you're doing here?"

Her eyes took on a strange green light as she left the sanctuary of the shadows. "I'm only here for the Battousai, the rest of you can remove yourselves before you get hurt."

"We're not going anywhere." Kaoru grasped her wooden sword "We'll never leave Kenshin."

The woman shook her head and walked over to the shorter girl "What do you think you could do to me with a child's toy like that."

"Let me give you a demonstration." Kaoru lunged for her "Ha!!!"

Ebony easily sidestepped the attack, tripping the girl before she could recover her steady footing and make a second attempt. "This is the last warning I'm give you. Leave us now or I won't let you get through this unscarred and I'm not referring to your foolish pride."

"I'm not leaving Kenshin." Kaoru's face was tinted pink but she still held her sword ready

"Suit yourself." Ebony turned to walk back over to where he and Sanosuke stood waiting

"Who are you?" Kenshin asked, narrowing his eyes

"You can just call me Ebony." She replied "I came here to claim your mortal life."

"Do you know how many trained fighters have tried and failed?" Sano asked "I'm sure your moves worked fine beating up your little brother but he's a whole different story."

"Don't make me angry." She warned, keeping her eyes locked on Kenshin.

"You don't have a chance in the world." Sano shook his head

"Perhaps." She shrugged her shoulders "There's only one way to find out though."

"What makes you think I'll be so willing to fight you?" Kenshin asked "Hitokiri Battousai died with the revolution. I've taken on the role of a wanderer and have no intention of resurrecting him."

"Let me put it this way." She smiled, letting the light from the lamp play over her smooth, pointed fangs. "If you don't fight me, I'll suck the life out of all of you one by one and I'm sure you know I could do it. I've been sitting in that tree every night for the past three weeks and you only discovered I was here within the past few days."

"Earlier today." He admitted "You left the body of a bird on the ground and the girls were upset by it."

"Then you must have an idea of what I'm capable of." She eyed the three other people hungrily. "What's your decision?"

"I'll fight you, but only on the terms that no matter the outcome, you'll let them live."

"I won't take their lives as long as they stay out of this." She nodded in agreement "However, if I win I'm going to claim your life for my own purposes. If any of them interfere in this battle, I will have to consider this contract broken and I won't guarantee anything."

"Did you all here that." He took his stance, sword poised and steady "Stay out of this."

"But Kenshin..." Kaoru protested

"Miss Kaoru, stay out of this. I'm not willing to put all of your lives on the line of a fight against a fighter I know nothing about."

Ebony grasped her own sword "Make your move Battousai." 

She saw a golden tint hit his eyes before he darted at her, the speed and agility of his movement impressive, but not impossible to track. She knew a bit about his chosen sword style and from the gossip she had listened in on around the area, she had figured out some of his favorite moves. "You're not much for offence, are you?" She glanced over at him "Most fighters would have flinched at any sword coming that close to them."

Ebony turned to face him "I could see you. You were just far enough off that I wouldn't need to dodge."

"Smart girl." Sanosuke remarked, "But brains don't always mean victory."

Ebony took off, running on the balls of her feet, a fluid movement that when combined with her sleek black appearance, gave the illusion of a soaring raven. She spotted Kenshin running to the side of her and slid down on one knee to make a swing with the sword that took the blade upward, forcing him to leap into the air to save himself. 

She smirked at the rip that appeared in the sleeve of his gi. "You're not giving me enough credit."

"I've never seen this style before." He frowned "Where were you taught?"

"Places around the countryside. I had numerous different masters teaching me bits and pieces of different styles and eventually just combined them with some of my own moves."

"Did you notice anything special about her sword?" Kaoru looked down at Yahiko who was engrossed in the display before him.

"Looks pretty normal to me." He replied

"Not the sword, the way she's holding it." The violet haired beauty bit her lower lip 

"She flipped over the blade." Sano finally said dryly "She obviously doesn't mean to kill him here."

"Come and get me." Ebony whisked by him

Kenshin glared, feeling frustration rising within him. Out of all the opponents to be baffled by, she was the only one who could slay everyone close to him without putting forth much of an effort at all. If he lost this battle...he shook his head and raced after her again, he couldn't think about that. He had to concentrate, he had to come out victorious. 

She stopped suddenly, whirling around to clash blades with him. Kenshin sidestepped quickly to the right, bringing the reversed blade towards her back, expecting to end the fight right then.

What he didn't expect was for her flexibility to play in. Ebony bent over backwards, her head touching the ground, her body in a perfect u-shape. Kenshin's attack sliced the air above her, the force of the swing throwing his footing off for a split second. A split second was all Ebony needed.

As soon as the blade flew over her, she twisted around on her right foot until the blade connected with the back of his knee, brining him down. After that, it was only a matter of seconds before she knocked him aside the head with the hilt of her sword, sending him spinning into unconsciousness. "I win." She looked down at him with two eyes full of pity "You should have tried harder, I shouldn't have been able to beat you that easily."

"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried, tears streaming down her face as she and Yahiko raced to him.

Ebony grabbed their wrists "I said specifically for you to let the two of us be." She hissed, eyes narrowing. "You're going to regret your lack of foresight." She tilted Kaoru's head back, sinking her fangs into the warm flesh on her neck. Yahiko remained paralyzed in fear to her other side. 

Ebony couldn't concentrate on anything but the heavenly feel of the warm, life giving fluid running down her throat. It took every bit of her willpower to stop before the girl died and move onto the young boy. "What do you think you're doing?" Sanosuke ran over, fists flailing but she managed to avoid all but one of the blows.

"They're not dead." She rubbed the sore spot on her cheek. "Here's what's going to happen though. It's going to be a race against time to heal them from this point on. You have a doctor friend, a black haired woman that stops by once in awhile. I suggest that you run and fetch her now. I'll remain here with him, making sure they survive until you return. Once I see you coming, I'm going to take him and disappear. You'll never find us where I'm going so don't even waste your time trying, not if you feel like having any friends left alive. I don't feel like stealing more then one life tonight but the choice is yours, it's going to take both you and the doctor woman at least a week of nonstop care to get these two out of harms way."

"Why are you doing this?" Sanosuke gritted his teeth

"I promised him I wouldn't kill you and it will be easier for him to adapt knowing that you are all well. Go now or they'll both be dead within hours. My patience with you grows short."

He hesitated but took off at a sprint down the roads. Ebony left Kenshin where he was lying on the ground and moved the other two into the dojo, onto two futons. She tore off pieces of her gi to wrap around their necks, hoping that the bleeding would slow. It was within three hours when she heard two sets of rushed footsteps and anxious voices. Leaving the door open, she ran over to grab Kenshin's limp body and then disappeared into the woods. She didn't care what happened to those people anymore, she had the only possession she needed. Battousai had been defeated by a simple woman just because he refused to unleash the monster she had longed to witness for herself. 

  
  
  
  


*I'm not sure about the fight scene moves. I tried to figure them out here but my little sister wasn't about to let me hurt her for the sake of literature...I swear, some people can be so difficult. I just hope you get the basic ideas that Ebony was too flexible and agile and Kenshin just wouldn't put all of himself into the battle and that's what caused his defeat. It's not necessarily because she was a better swordsman then he. I don't think that would be true at all. I just got the idea from the show that if someone ever tried to take advantage of him when he didn't really want to fight, that he would be defeated rather easily. Anyways, they're just ideas that got thrown around in my head and I don't mean to rile up people's tempers because of it.*


	3. Chapter III

Ebony Bliss

Rating: Still PG-13 although I was drooling as I wrote parts. The best is yet to come, I promise!

Spoilers: If you haven't seen the OVA and you don't want to know anything about it until you can see it, then you probably won't want to read past the first chapter. There are going to be some references to people and situations that happened throughout them but other then that it should be safe.

Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters, a somewhat original plot…if it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that. 

Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it

Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

  
  


Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do.

  
  


Chapter 3

  
  


"You get heavy after awhile." Ebony had to stop to rest about two hours away from the dojo. She laid Kenshin's body on the ground and plopped down under the nearest tree, resting against its sturdy trunk. "Why did you have to restrain yourself?" She asked, obviously not expecting an answer out of the still unconscious man "I shouldn't have been much of a match for you, even if you didn't know what I was capable of." She shook her head and gazed at him a moment longer "You just sold your soul to the devil because of a foolish promise to yourself." 

She shut her eyes and leaned back against the tree "We probably should get moving again." She stood up reluctantly about fifteen minutes later and hefted him back onto her shoulders "The sun is going to be coming up in a few hours and we still have a long way to travel. I'd rather get you inside as soon as possible, it will just make the transition more difficult if you get to see the sun rise again."

Daybreak was just falling over the countryside when she slid into the foliage that hid her nation from the eyes of the outside world. The vines and branches were so dense that no mortal had ever dared to intrude. She shoved the branches and leaves aside, revealing a narrow path that she was able to drag Kenshin down.

The trail broke off into a fork, the wider path leading towards the village composed of her children of darkness and the narrow path to the left, showing the way to her castle. It was a bit of a hike but not many of the villagers wandered up there, providing her with the sanctuary she desired. Not many of the villagers could wander up there, they didn't have the strength for the walk. They were all starving to death and there was nothing she could do about it, at least not on her own.

The door was flung open as she made her way up the steps. "You've been gone a long time." The man noted "I take it that this is the manslayer you were after?"

She nodded "I told you I'd bring him back. I don't like breaking my promises. You should know that by now, Ryote."

Her assistant shrugged "I was assuming that this promise would be more difficult to keep then the others. You were talking about throwing down a legend after all." 

"I'm not going to let my people continue to live like that. They don't deserve to die in a horrible manner like this." She picked Kenshin up again "Did you prepare the surgical room like I asked before I left?"

"It's been ready for several weeks now." A smirk played at the corner of his red lips "Have you even brought him over yet?"

"There wasn't time. His friends were always around him and by the time I beat him, I had to nearly drain two of them to get the third to leave for a doctor." She stopped short, not liking the idea of explaining her actions to anyone. "I'm tired, it's been a long day. Take him up to the surgical room and strap him to the table. With luck he won't wake up until the operation is over. I'm going to go rest for awhile and I'll attend to him later. I suggest you take a few people from the village and try to feed them. Our army won't be able to do anything if they're all starving to death."

"Speaking of the army." Ryote brushed a stray strand of hair away from his eyes "It has gained fifty new members since you left. Hotai and his four comrades went on a hunting trip to a village a few miles west of here. They couldn't stand the idea of killing all the innocent people so they fed on them and then brought them over to stifle their guilt. You've got more bodies to feed now. Let's just hope he's as strong of a hunter as the rumors say."

Ebony turned and ascended the stairs to her room in shock. More thirsts to quench when she couldn't take care of the population before she left. Everything was falling apart at the time when they needed to be building up their strength.

She locked the door to her room behind her, throwing her thin form onto her bed. "I miss you Bliss." She whispered into the thick blankets "I wish you were still here to help me through all of this." She reached under one of her pillows to bring out a small black and white photograph of two little girls playing on the porch of a faraway home. "He seems to be a lot like you." She kept speaking to the picture "Too kind to hurt anyone else, even if it means throwing his own life away. I hate the idea of doing this but what other solution is there? Everyone here is starving and we can't find enough to take care of them all. With the two of us working on it every night, we might be able to make this life a little bit more tolerable." The last word was nothing more then a breath of air as Ebony succumbed to the sleep that she had been avoiding for the past day.

The room was just as dark when she awoke as when she had fallen asleep. Her view down to the village provided her only insight to whether it was day or night. The roads were all empty and most of the lights were out, indicating that it was probably only late afternoon or early in the evening. The villagers didn't come alive until well after ten, when the sound of their empty stomachs would drive her out into the wild on a quest for food. She glanced down at the picture that had fallen to the floor "I might as well go get this over with." Ebony sighed and gently slid the photo under her pillow where it would remain until she returned.

The surgical room was down up on the third floor, a room with only a single window looking over the endless forest. The walls were thicker up there, formerly to contain heat but were now being used to muffle the screams of the patients when they woke up before she was finished.

She didn't do it for her own enjoyment. She just couldn't have the citizens reproducing and brining children into the world that would just be used as food. The mothers would shut down, kill themselves and chaos would rise up to uncontrollable levels. To solve the problem, she simple castrated the males before they planted that seed of life into their women. It was so much easier to preform a form of external surgery on the men then try to change the internal organs of a woman. A few snips and some stitches were all it took and the men seemed to get over it rather quickly. She had nothing against sex, just the end results.

He was strapped down to the table, just as she had instructed. Thankfully, he was also still unconscious which would last for the next few hours. "Okay, let's just do this quickly." She released most of the straps so she could remove his gi. "Oh Kami." She couldn't help but stare at the flesh that was revealed to her startled eyes. Creamy clear skin marred with the scars of numerous battles. Strawberries and cream, her favorite dessert as a child, that's what he reminded her of. A firm defined chest, strong but not overly muscular with two dusky rose nipples as a perfect contrast to the rest of his body. The only hair on his body seemed to be that thin trail running down his flat stomach and disappearing into his hakama. "It should be a sin." She muttered, removing the offending hakama with her eyes closed. "Ebony, you fool. You've seen a hundred naked men, why is this one so different?" She forced herself to look down at him again but couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when she found him wearing a loincloth underneath. "A modest one." She let herself smile for a brief moment before trying to focus on the task at hand.

The more she saw of him, the more she was convinced that the gods themself had designed him from scratch. Everything about him seemed more gentle then she would have expected. His hips weren't anywhere near plump but they had a fullness that indicated a man who enjoyed his meals. With the speed she had seen him utilizing, she had expected him to be fully muscled, like every other warrior she had come across. His legs were flecked with the same colored hair as his stomach, the color of a blood tinted sunset. A crimson pearl, that's what she had come across.

She kept her eyes on his loincloth, the only thing between her and her current objective. No matter how much she willed her hands to do so, she couldn't bring herself to remove it. "Damn it." She swore, slamming her fist on the table, "Why can't I go through with this? Why is he so different from the others?" She grabbed one hand with the other, to force it to touch the knot resting on the top of his hip. She wrapped her fingers around the dangling string and was about to pull when he let out a soft moan and rolled over, making her eyes grow even wider as the loincloth slipped. "You win this time Himura." She gritted her teeth "The Gods must be in favor of you remaining a man. Don't doubt that when I get the chance, you will be castrated, just like the others. Maybe they just want me to give you a chance to adapt to this new way of living, if you can even call it that."

Kenshin woke up feeling groggy and with a pain in his head. "Wha..." He sat up slowly, wincing at the pain the simple action caused. "Am I dead?" He felt a slight breeze and looked down, feeling his cheeks heat up "Where have my clothes gone?"

"You might as well be dead." He heard a voice from behind him but a leather strap around his waist prevented him from turning to see. "Your clothes are being washed, you should have them again by morning."

"Ebony, right?" He began to work on the straps

"I'm surprised you remembered."

Kenshin finally freed himself from the table and turned, spotting her sitting in the window seat, moonlight illuminating her dark form. "Could you at least tell me where you've taken me?"

"You ask too many questions for someone who should be dead." He detected a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Is this heaven?" He asked, trying to break through to her "People sure have the wrong idea down on Earth, now don't they?"

"Just the opposite." She became even more stoic and solemn as she turned to gaze out the window again, her hand stroking the hilt of her sword.

"Then where am I?" He asked again

She didn't bother to turn and face him again "Welcome to hell, Kenshin Himura." 

  
  


*Mmmm...Kenshin in a loincloth, I know I wouldn't be able to stop staring so I've got to cut Ebony some slack. I know most people would disagree with me on his body form but the guy defiantly has an ass on him and I can't see him as one of those body-builders you see on those bowflex commercials. He's got a nice form though, even without all the muscle definition. Other then that, it's pretty straight forward this time* 


	4. Chapter IV

Ebony Bliss

Rating: Sorry but it's still PG-13...It will get better...I swear it will just be patient with me

Spoilers: If you haven't seen the OVA and you don't want to know anything about it until you can see it, then you probably won't want to read past the first chapter. There are going to be some references to people and situations that happened throughout them but other then that it should be safe.

Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters, a somewhat original plot…if it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that. 

Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it

Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

  
  


Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do.

  
  


Chapter 4

  
  


Kenshin remained silent, not knowing what to say to the woman in the window. Servants crept in and out of the room after building up a fire and leaving a plate of food on a table. He was assuming it was for him, not knowing if she still ate regular food or not.

"Was the operation successful?" A different voice came from the doorway. The man entered, not bothering to knock or to be invited in. 

"The Gods sent signs to wait on him." Ebony answered "I'm not about to go against their wishes."

"The rest of the village won't be pleased when they find out he wasn't treated the same." 

"Ryote, you forget your place." She stood up and walked over to take a package from him, "They won't find out. He's only being exempted for a short time until he adjusts to this new way of life. I doubt anyone in the village will care as long as he helps to feed them. You are not to mention this to anyone."

"As you wish." The pale man bowed but Kenshin didn't miss the mocking tone in his voice. "The ceremony to bring him over will be held one week from today. You said you wanted to bring him over by the next full moon, correct?"

"That's right." She turned to fix her gaze on Kenshin "Just see to the preparations and arrange for a small hunting party tonight. Just take out a few of the older boys and don't let them take home more then two humans each to feed their families. I will speak with you later to check the ceremonial circle."

He gave another quick bow and left the two of them alone in the room. "A friend of yours?" Kenshin asked

Ebony tossed the package to him "My partner in crime so to speak. He's the only one in this place that I'll trust to aid me. He's not the nicest person but he's dependable."

Kenshin untied the string that held the brown paper together. He pushed everything out of the way and gazed down at the black garments. "Your clothes were dirty and torn, I sent them down to a woman in the village who takes in laundry in return for food for her and her young child. They'll be back in a few days although I doubt you'll be needing them again."

He slipped on the new clothing, the material silky soft to the touch and lighter then air. On instinct, he reached down to touch his sword and found it missing. "It will be returned to you once you're brought over." Ebony explained "I would have done it before now to save you the public display but there wasn't time at your home and now that you're here, everyone is expecting a ceremony."

"Could you be a little bit specific?" Kenshin asked, standing up to test the strength of his legs 

"What do you want to know?" Ebony asked "If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a vampire, as is everyone else in this village. Most of the can't bring themselves to go feed on their own so the task of finding prey to drain has fallen to myself, Ryote and the few members who have finally given into their new lives. We usually bottle up the blood and distribute it to the families but things have gotten out of control lately and the population is swelling too quickly for us to keep up with. We can't feed everyone on our own anymore and we needed help. That's why I went to find you. With your sword skills combined with mine and the help of a few other people, we might be able to save everyone from starving."

"You speak as if this is a common story." Kenshin frowned "What makes you think that I'd be willing to start killing again after I washed my hands of blood years ago?"

"That's where the ceremony comes in." She grinned "It hasn't failed yet. Once you're one of us, your hunger for blood, the same lust the Battousai had in the revolution, will come back to you and you'll end up giving in."

"You're assuming I have no free will and no mind of my own." He shook his head "If you're going to kill me, then kill me and use me for food. I'm not going to go back to the life I left behind, I made a promise to myself."

"Say what you want." Ebony shrugged "You're not the first with honorable intentions that I've had to reform. Have you ever felt true hunger? The kind that leaves you paralyzed, unable to move, speak or even think of anything besides nourishment? Have you ever in your life felt that pain that goes all the way down to the bottom of your soul with pulsing agony? The people in the village are confined to their beds most of their lives, they don't have the strength to move and most of them eventually become zombie-like. They breath but they will never live again. The only person who can take them out of their misery and send them to the afterlife refuses to. You'll never understand what I'm talking about until your honor and integrity are the cause of your insanity."

"So there is someone who can help them?" Kenshin asked

"Yes, but he won't. I've begged, pleaded, bargained, and cried to him millions of times for the sake of those poor people but he has his own selfish intentions." She shook her head, trying to regain some of her composure. "If you'll promise not to run, I'll take you down to the valley and you can see what I'm talking about."

"I don't have any intention of trying to escape and putting my friends in danger."

"You are the honorable type, aren't you?" Ebony smirked and eyed him up and down in the dim firelight of the room. She had been hoping the black garments would hide more of his appearance then the other outfit had. Unfortunately, the black only enhanced the creamy column of his neck and face. His hair fell down, a fire against the black silk. "Hold on." She tore the thick black ribbon out of her hair and wrapped it around his neck. 

"What was that for?"

"These people are starving...if you walk around with your neck showing, it would be like offering a glass of water to a dying man in the desert. This way, they'll be less likely to attack you, the ones that could at least." She fixed her own word back on her hip "Just follow me, I'll give you the tour of your new home."

"How long have you been here?" He asked once they were outside

"If that's your way of asking how long I've been like this, the answer is six years. Not a very long time in general but under the circumstances, it seems like a lifetime. You tend to lose track of time when you can't gaze at the sun. The only clocks in this village are in my castle and ones in the center of the heavily populated areas."

"You don't care if it's morning or evening?" He asked

"Day and night just blend together when you have to sleep away most of your life. When you're asleep, you don't feel hungry or thirsty. It's just another way to escape this reality." She rounded the hill and started up the path that took them into the center of the commercial area. "It's nothing too impressive." She shrugged "Just a few tailors, wash women, and three butchers who employ some boys to hunt animals. They drain the blood and sell it to those who can afford the price. There are two general stores down the other way. When we end up taking an entire family, their goods are donated to those stores and the prices are regulated so the people can stay clothed and purchase new bedding and other things like that once in awhile."

"With so few jobs, wouldn't most people be unemployed and unable to buy any of these things?" Kenshin glanced into the nearest shop and spotted a pale woman stitching up what looked to be his gi.

"They get paid to overcome their fears. Those who can go out and hunt down humans get rewarded for their efforts. I pay them to feed others."

"Looks cozy." Kenshin remarked, looking down the street lined with small houses and hovels. 

"Now you'll see what I've been trying to tell you." Ebony walked up to the fourth house on the left side and opened the door. "Mama still sleepin'." A little girl looked up from where she was lying in her futon."

"Here." She took two bottles out of the small sack she had brought and handed them to the girl's older brother "Don't waste it on your mother, she's beyond your help. Just feed your sister and yourself for a few days and hopefully it will give you the strength to go out and start hunting."

"Thank you princess." The boy gave a slight bow and crawled over to his sister, opening her mouth and pouring some of the thick red liquid down her throat before he took some for himself.

"Come here Himura." She knelt down beside the futon of what must have once been a woman. Kenshin's eyes widened as he took in the sight of her. There was no fat, no muscle, nothing but the pale, pasty gray skin barely covering the bones that were poking out of her. Every vein in her body was visible as they kept her from passing over. There was no hair on her head and her eyebrows were gone. The eyelids that were pasted shut and did little to hide her eyes, the outline of the balls were obvious against the thin flap of skin. "How many are there like this?" He finally asked, having to look away from her 

"At least thirty. The population here is around two hundred and fifty now so it's considerable. More are going every day."

"How many people do you have hunting?"

"Ryote and I go out every night. There are about fifteen boys between the ages of sixteen and twenty three who we take out in shifts. They have shoved all the fears behind them and are becoming great assets to this community. There are two or three girls around the same age that are the head of their families for one reason or another and are forcing themselves to hunt. They usually aren't very successful though, their feelings keep getting in the way. It's better then nothing though and it's two less families we have to worry about." She stood up from where she was kneeling "Are you ready to go? The sun should be coming up in a hour or so and we really should be inside then. Up on the hill, there are a few spots where the light can flicker down through the foliage and I can't risk running into that."

"So the myths about vampires and sunlight are true." He gently touched the woman's hand before rising and following her out of the small hut.

"Not all, but I'm not your typical vampire. I don't get to live by the normal rules and neither do the rest of the people. The creature responsible for keeping us here has designed our lives in such a way that we can never be in the sunlight again without suffering a horrible death."

"But I thought you said that whoever it was wouldn't let any of you die." Kenshin gazed up at the thick branches

"It's a curse. It's closer to death then what you saw back there but it's still not complete. The body would be reduced to the dust it was created from and the half spirit that was left would be left in that one spot for eternity, never moving and not escaping. As you can see, he thought of everything."

The two of them started up the hill to her castle, Kenshin mulling over all the information she had thrown at him. "Who is this man? You obviously know him."

"Better then I would like." She kicked a rock into the underbrush "He's my father."

"What kind of powers does he have?" The manslayer was nearly speechless "How can a simple man control the lives, deaths, and souls of so many? It's inhuman."

"This is going to be hard for you to understand but I might as well tell you it now. 

You've probably heard of him through myths and legends. He goes by the name Amatsu Mikaboshi to the human world."

"The god of darkness and evil is your father?" Kenshin stopped right where he was

"Don't stop walking or I'll have to use force." She warned "Yes he's my father although the story is more complex then just those facts. I'm half goddess and have some basic superhuman powers. I wasn't really running when we fought, I knew if I used my true speed, you would have thought that I disappeared. I can also blend into the night, using almost anything as a camouflage but that's about it. I'm nothing compared to him and he knows it. However, if he's sent out of this world, these people will be freed and can go into the afterlife."

"What about you?" He asked

"I honestly don't know. It seems like I would finally die with the rest of these people but the immortality thing is working against that. I'm hoping to find out if the times comes."

"So there were two reasons for you bringing me here." Kenshin smiled "To feed your people and to help battle your father."

"You were brought here solely to help hunt." She frowned "Do you honestly think a God could be destroyed by brute force alone? That's only half of it, the rest being spiritual and praying off of the will of the people he has enslaved." She threw open the doors to the castle and began to walk up the stairs. Kenshin glanced behind them to find Ryote glaring up "Mistress Ebony, you barely missed the sunrise."

"I'm aware of that. Himura needed to be enlightened on the present situation and I wanted to get it out of the way. He will be staying in my room until he's brought over, I don't want to risk him finding his way out of here."

"Whatever you say mistress." The man nearly growled, a sound not heard by Ebony as she yawned. 

"Come on Himura." She continued up the stairs to her room.

"You're sure that man is trustworthy?" Kenshin asked uneasily

"Are you questioning my judgement?" She asked, pulling a rope that brought two maids into the room to turn down the blankets, bank the fire and remove the plate of uneaten food.

"I probably shouldn't say anything, since I haven't been here long but something about that man makes me uneasy, that it does."

"You're not used to our kind yet." Ebony shrugged it off and stepped behind a screen to chance into a nightgown of navy blue silk adorned with black flowers along the bottom hem. She stepped back out and unbound her hair, letting it spring out and drape down her back.

"I hope this doesn't offend you Miss Ebony but I feel perfectly at ease with you and I felt no fear when I was in the village. I believe that it's only him who is causing me to worry."

"You can put your fears aside. Ryote is as trustworthy as anyone else around here and one of the only people I can trust to help me in my plans to overthrow my father."

"I'm going to worry about you Miss Ebony, that I am. I feel you're overlooking more then what you should and you need someone to watch your back. I'd be honored if you'd let me be that person."

She felt her cheeks heat up. Damn him, she glared at his calm eyes and gentle smile. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I'm sure you are, but I'm still going to look out for you. You're a very strong woman but there's a softer side to you that you are trying to hide. You remind me of another woman I knew quite some time ago and I'm not going to let you go as easily as I let her."

"Get in, Himura." She pointed to the side of the bed closest to the wall

"I couldn't let you sleep on the floor." He protested "I'll stay down there and I swear to you that I won't run."

"I'm going to be sleeping in there with you, with your wrist and leg bound to me so there is no way you can escape."

"If that's what you want." Kenshin shrugged and climbed into the bed. "It's much nicer then a futon, that it is." He ran a finger over the pillow and looked up at her

I hope this isn't going to be the biggest mistake of my life. Ebony forced herself to climb in next to him and tie his limbs snugly to her own. "Comfortable?" She asked dryly

"Very." He smiled up at her, his violet eyes twinkling in the dim firelight. "Pleasant dreams Miss Ebony."

"Goodnight Himura."

  
  


*I love Japanese mythology and wanted to do something with it in this story. I know it's throwing quite a bit of fiction into this but I've always wanted to see an anime based on ancient legends and myths. The vampire bits are a little shaky, I had to reason it out to myself and even now, I'm sure there are some problems that any mortal vampire or gothic person would love to throw in my face. The next chapter is already planned out in my head and you're finally going to hear Ebony's story and for those of you who haven't seen the Samurai X OVAs, I'm planning on using some major spoilers in the next chapter. It shouldn't be too long before it's up!*


	5. Chapter V

Ebony Bliss

Rating: Gahh...It was supposed to be R by now but I'm still deciding whether I want to tone down the lemony goodness later on or just give you all some rather explicate NC-17 scenes and just call them R to make this site happy. So far it's just been PG-13 and I've called it R, so let me know what you think.

Spoilers: WARNING! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SAMURAI X OVAs AND YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, STOP READING AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!! I had to make that big enough so people can't say they weren't forewarned. 

Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters, a somewhat original plot…if it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that. 

Archives: None yet…ask me nicely and I might let you have it

Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

  
  


Blah blah blah…Kenshin is not mine…if he was…you wouldn't be seeing too much of him because he'd be locked up in my room with me for quite some time. He belongs to some really lucky person in Japan who has a lot more money then I do.

  
  


Chapter 5

  
  


Toss and turn, right side, left side, flip, spin. Kenshin sighed and flopped onto his back. It was the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in and he couldn't get any rest for the life of him. The bonds that held him to Ebony weren't a problem, they were long enough so he could practice his late night acrobatics without disturbing her. "You know, for a girl who was worried about my leaving, you really are a sound sleeper." He sat up and gazed down at her. "You really are something else. I haven't met a girl like you since the revolution." He noticed a strand of her loose hair down by her mouth and reached down to move it away. "Pure silk." He murmured, stroking the strands with his callused fingers. "You try to act so hard but everything about you screams out innocence and vulnerability, that it does."

She turned further into her pillow, mumbling unconsciously. "What was that? I couldn't quite here you?" Kenshin was answered by her light, even breathing and shook his head. "Beautiful." He whispered before he realized what he was thinking. 

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the ideas "No more. Never again." He looked down at her again "I can't do this again."

She mumbled again, rolling over, her face now facing him. "Didn't hear that time either." He smiled and gazed down at her freely "It's no wonder you're a demi-goddess even though I wouldn't have thought you to be evil. Beauty, love, passion, those are the things that you represent."

She shrieked suddenly, crawling up against his body and slamming her small fists against his chest "Daddy, don't do this! Just leave her alone! Bliss, don't leave me." Tears started running down her cheeks to dampen the blankets "We promised to stay together forever. You can't leave me now! Stop being so stupid!"

"I heard you that time." He frowned "I can't say I understood anything though." He sighed again and settled down, letting her curl up against him, some tension leaving her body. "I've missed this more then I thought." He draped an arm over her and forced himself to get some sleep.

Warm sunshine, a light woodsy scent and pure masculinity rolled up together. Ebony snuggled closer to Kenshin, breathing in deeply. "Just another hour or so." She murmured "I don't want to get up right now." She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the chest of the man she had taken captive. Her eyes widened, glancing up and hoping to find him still soundly asleep.

There was no such luck for her. "Good evening." His eyes were twinkling brighter then the stars that specked the midnight blue sheet of the night sky. 

She backed away quickly, nearly falling off of the bed in the process. "I'm sorry." She stammered "I don't know what got into me." 

"Do you usually talk in your sleep?" He asked, sitting up as well and letting her unbind them.

Her face went even paler then normal "Could you make out what I was saying?" She asked nervously

He nodded "I can't say I understood anything but I heard you the third time you cried out. Those must be some vicious demons you carry with you."

"Just forget everything." She hopped out of the bed, the pillow falling to the floor after her, leaving the photo in the silver frame lying against the mattress. Kenshin's eyes scanned it quickly "Is one of these girls named Bliss?" He asked

"I told you to forget it!" She blinked back her tears, feeling more vulnerable then she had in any recent time.

"Sometimes it's easier to deal with the past when you have someone who understands what you've gone through." He spoke softly, keeping his eyes fixed on her back

"The past belongs buried and forgotten." She replied, running her fingertips over the picture

"You're carrying around the ghosts inside of you. They'll never leave until you let them."

"What do you know?" She spun around and jammed the pillow back in its place. "You've been staying with friends that adore you and treat you like a God. Your ghosts have already traveled to the afterlife."

"Are you sure about that?" His small smiled faded "You're a warrior, you can tell fighting styles and you watched my interactions with my friends. You probably know about my history or you would not have come after me. However, don't be so quick to assume you know all about me. I'm human and I carry about the same burdens and pains as the other people in this world."

"That's the problem." She finally turned back around to face him "You're human. Even if I was to trust you, you wouldn't be able to understand most of it."

"Try me." Kenshin gave her another small smile "Even if I don't understand, it will give you a chance to get it out in the open. It's nice to have someone know what you're going through so you don't feel as alone."

She hesitated "Himura, are you sure you want to have all my problems thrown on you?"

"If it's any help to you in the end, I'll gladly listen to your story."

"Alright." She sighed and settled back on the bed, making sure there were several inches of space between the two of them "Maybe it's time to tell everything." She gave another sigh and began to speak, quietly, as if forming a vision spell in front of him.

"I guess all of this started because of my mother. She was brought up in a decent middle class family and was educated in the ways of women by the other females in her family. They prepared her for a life of a good wife and mother and saw no need for any other skills or knowledge. She and her husband were married when she was around sixteen. They had been friends for quite some time and it was a good match for both families involved. They settled into a home on the side of a hill, a mile or so away from the nearest village. He was a teacher there and she was anxious to have the children she had longed for since her mother and grandmother had instructed her in child care and mothering skills."

"It was never supposed to be. She proved to be barren and was heartbroken because of it. Her husband wasn't quite as upset, he had the children he taught to tend to. Mother began to wilt away, unable to accept a life without the babies she craved. She started bargaining with the Gods, trying to get one of them to give her a child, not caring about the cost."

"My father heard her pleas and slithered into her life, promising her the perfect daughter she had always wanted would be planted inside of her by her husband if she agreed to carry another child, his child of darkness along with the other. He was to come back when his child was of a proper age and take her back with him. She was desperate and agreed to his terms, just thinking about her own selfish desires."

"A little over nine months later, my sister, Bliss, and I were born. She was everything I never could be. Happiness, beauty, kindness, love, and virtue seemed to radiate from her in waves. All she had to do was fix her smile on a miserable stranger and they would smile back in spite of themselves. Mother used to tell her that she could make a day turn sunny just by stepping outside. The sun wanted to see her bathing in his light so badly that he would force the clouds aside. Bliss really was the perfect child, the child she had always dreamed about."

"Those aren't names you hear on a regular basis." Kenshin remarked

Ebony frowned at his interruption "Mother had a love for the English language that my father taught to his more advanced pupils. Bliss is another word for happiness and Ebony just means black, darkness. It was just another way she reminded us of who we were."

"As soon as she set eyes on me, Mother held me in much lower regard. I was always a quiet child and since she knew I wouldn't remain there forever, she treated me like an unwanted guest. Whatever food I received was left over from the regular family meals or whatever Bliss gave to me. I was given the chores that a son would have had in our house while Bliss was given an abundance of free time. When she was sent off to a school down in the village to learn women-tasks like Mother had, I was shipped off to an old master of a nearly dead form of swordsmanship to keep me occupied. It didn't suit me and I went through a half a dozen other styles before I started making up my own. Mother never cared, she just didn't want me at home. She managed to have another baby several years after the two of us, giving her husband the he was hoping for but had given up wishing for. Kinaiji was a sweet little brother, although I was never permitted to spend much time with him. Mother always acted like my father had placed a curse on me from the day I was born and she was afraid it would spread to her perfect children. She never realized how right that thought was."

"Bliss was the only one who seemed to care about me. She loved me more then what she should have and took care of me when no one else bothered. We were closer then any other siblings I knew, we had a special bond that kept us connected, even when Mother tried to keep us apart. I could always feel her pain when she was hurt and when my stomach was growling and she was at her school in the village, she would know to bring back food for me. We were complete opposites in personality and appearance but we had a connection that could never be broken. Love kept the two of us together."

"That's the way my life was until I was about fifteen. That's when he came back."

"My father came back looking for me, he had decided that fifteen years would be enough time to build up my basic strength and knowledge so that I would be useful to him. He came back and found me a gaunt frame of pasty skin and matted hair. I had power in my body from my training but he couldn't see it. He was disgusted with how my Mother had treated her own child, just because the father was evil. He was infuriated and for a few moments, I thought he would kill her for spite. That's when he looked outside and saw Bliss hanging up the laundry."

"Her black hair gleamed like it had just been washed as the sun shone over her. She was full of that youthful strength that comes from plenty of love, good food, and inner joy. Compared to me at that point, there was no contest. He took back what he gave and decided Bliss would be better suited for his purposes. He gave her time to say goodbye to me and she did so with no resentment, she wouldn't show any fear. Our mother was kept away, he wouldn't even let them say goodbye before he vanished with my only friend."

"She killed herself a few days later, unable to go on living without her darling daughter. She couldn't even make herself live for the man who loved her and for her son. I didn't expect her to want to live for me. Oddly enough, the death of my mother was the real beginning of my life. Without her around, I was doing most of the housework and as a result, I was eating much better, getting stronger by the day. I had a decent relationship with the man who had played father to me all my life and my little brother adored me. Eventually, an orphaned girl from the village came to stay and do the housework, leaving me to seek out my first master in swordsmanship and have him teach me everything about his style. I knew that in my current state, I would never be able to find my sister. I needed more power, I needed to be stronger."

"It took almost three years for me to achieve my goals. My master passed away after telling me I was the new master of his techniques. I bid farewell to my family, knowing very well that there was a chance I wouldn't be returning and then set off to search for Bliss."

"It took over a year of wandering before I found her. I was wandering around this area and heard stories about the forbidden forest. They were all tales of an eternal night that overcame the souls of whoever set foot inside. My soul was already corrupted so I figured I'd take a closer look."

"You weren't awake when I brought you here so you wouldn't know what the entrance looks like. It's all foliage, and looks impossible to pass through. I had my sword and cut through some of the lower underbrush and found the two paths. A glimmer of light from the village distracted me and I followed it, only to find a much smaller, much more thriving version of what is down there today. The vampires were all over the streets, bartering, talking, it almost seemed like a normal human village until two of them attacked me, seeing that my neck was unscarred."

"It was easy enough to fight them off since they were unarmed but I started running, knowing very well I couldn't take them all on. It was then I spotted this castle up on the hill. I felt my insides tearing, knotting, and it was then I knew that I had found her."

"The doors were unlocked so I ran frantically from room to room, begging her to tell me where she was but her voice was too small, too weak for me to hear. I ran up and down the stairs, looking in every room, every corner but she wasn't there. It was then that I felt drawn to a room I had entered twice before only this time, I took a closer look at the closet. There was a second wall in there, hiding a narrow spiral staircase that I ran up."

"She was there at the top, lying in a small circular room on a blood stained rug. "'Ebony.'" She sighed, barely able to hold her hand out for me to grasp."

"'Bliss, what has he done to you?'" I held onto her, finding her bone thin and frailer then I was as a child.

"'It doesn't matter right now.'" She gave me one of her sunny sweet smiles "'All that matters to me is that you're here and I don't have to be alone anymore.'"

The light was gone from her eyes, devoid of hope and the life she had embraced all her life. "'Nothing is ever going to tear apart again.'" I swore "'Nothing, not even Death will be able to split us up again.'"

"'Ebony, look at me, I'm not the sister you used to love.'" She opened her mouth, revealing two ivory sharp fangs. "'He turned me into one of them, he wants me to be the head of his army.'"

"I had never hated anyone so deeply, so completely, so absolutely as I did him that very moment and for every moment after. I couldn't believe what he had done to my precious sister, draining her of the light and joy that made her such a perfect being. Even as a vampire, Bliss didn't have a speck of evil or darkness in her. She wasn't able to make herself feed on humans so the little nourishment she was getting was coming from the rats. We lived on them for weeks, not caring about anything other then just being with each other."

"That's when he came back. He wanted to know if she was still hiding away from her forced destiny. When he found me there, he was shocked to say the least and even more surprised at how much I had changed since he last saw me. I begged for him to let her go, pleaded for her life and tried everything I could think of to make him release her."

"That's when she made her stand, swore that if he didn't let me leave, she'd kill herself and he'd be left without a leader for his people. Every bit of strength in her body went into that final threat."

"He laughed at her and asked if she knew why she was even still here. It turns out the bastard had connected her to his life energy, to his body and he was forcing her to stay alive in a world that was destroying her very soul. Just to prove his point, he took in a breath of air and held it, making her fall back to the ground, gasping for air.'"

"'Stop it!'" I screamed, lunging at him with my sword, making him take another breath "Just leave her alone! She was never the one you wanted, I'm your child and the one that should be cursed with this life. Just release her and I'll take her place.'"

"I'll never forget that smirk he gave me, it could have froze the fires of hell."

"'You fool.'" He laughed "'Did you ever truly think I would let you leave this place after showing me your capabilities with the sword. You've filled out, become much stronger then I thought possible. You will take your place at the head of my army. However, there is only one way out of this world and that is death. There is no return to the human world to those who cross over. Now join me, daughter!'"

"He lunged at me, fangs barred. However, his size reduced his speed and I was easily able to avoid all of his attacks, making my own with my sword until he slapped it out of my hand. "'Bid your mortal life farewell, Ebony.'" He pinned me down to the ground and lowered his mouth."

"I had shut my eyes, just like every human would when it comes to facing the end of their lives. I heard his fangs sink into flesh, but I felt no pain. I forced open my eyes, only to find that Bliss had thrown herself between the two of us and he was sucking out what remained of her blood."

"I screamed, the first and the last time I ever remember doing so. He was killing her in front of my eyes and all because she tried to save me. He got up and spat at her limp body "'Filled me up too much to deal with this brat.'" He growled "Don't try to run, Ebony, the eyes of a God see all.'" And with that, he was gone."

"I held her in my arms, sobbing for her sacrifice only to feel a slight pressure on my shoulder and the hiss of breath in my ear. "'Ebony, don't cry.'" She whispered

"'I thought you were dead.'" I was overjoyed to hear her voice, hoping that there would be some way to save her."

"She just smiled again and shook her head "'I'll never be alive again, not here. I'm actually ready to go, leave all of this behind. I'm just hoping that there's some sunlight wherever I'm going. I've missed lying in the grass and staring up at it, even though Mama kept telling me it would burn holes in my eyes.'"

"'Bliss, he's never going to stop hunting me, is he?'" 

"'I'm afraid not. You're so much stronger then I am and you're what he really wants. He'll never let you settle anywhere else.'"

"I just sighed, knowing that there was nothing else to do. "Bliss, I want you to bring me over.'"

"'Ebony darling, I could never do that. I have never drank from a human and I refuse to take a life and condemn it to this hell.'"

"'Bliss, if you don't then he will. I could bare the scars if they came from you, knowing that what you did, you did out of love and respect for my wishes. Now please, just drink!'"

"'Ebony, you'll survive, you'll find a way to save everyone here. It would be just like you to save all these people from a God.'" She ran a finger down the side of my neck and sank her small fangs into the vein. It was just a sharp pinch and then a slow throbbing...as if I was connected to the veins that were feeding her. I couldn't feel the fangs growing, but I knew it was happening. One life was leaving me and the emptiness was replacing it, waiting to be filled with moments from this new world."

"'At least we're together here." I sighed, "He can't tear us apart again.'"

"'He already has.'" She smiled "'I'm sorry Ebony, but I'm going to be leaving you soon. The only reason I'm here right now is because of your blood and my heart is rejecting it. You've made my life more of a joy then the sun, the stars, and every other moment combined. You were never just a sister to me, Ebony-dear, you were everything. I'm sorry I've got to leave you now but I know you'll be able to get through this and move on. Just please don't forget me sister, I'll always be hiding somewhere inside of you, there to comfort you when you need me.'" She died then, falling back into my embrace."

"'Bliss, don't leave me.'" My body started shaking with sobs "'We promised to stay together forever. You can't leave me now! Stop being so stupid! You can't go...not now.'"

"She was the last soul my father allowed to escape from this hell to go into the afterlife. He took her body away from me when I feel asleep, exhausted from the emotional and mental pain that the past weeks had caused me. I don't know what he did with the body and he'll never tell me."

"It was after I woke that I finally realized what I had to do. I was not going to let him keep hurting people, I wasn't going to let any more people end up like Bliss. I've spent the past six years plotting, planning and trying to fix up a plan to destroy his hold on this village and eventually the world. Bliss was right when she said I'd find the strength to try to overthrow him. I have to or her death and the lives of all these other people will be in vain."

She kept forcing back the tears, throwing all of her anger and frustration into her voice. If he wanted to listen to her, then she was going to take advantage of the situation and get everything out. "I've been here ever since, trying to get enough people to rebel against him and praying to the other Gods to find a way to lead them free. It was another reason why I brought you here." She admitted "I told Ryote it was to have another hunter but I knew you'd be able to help me in my personal quest more then anything else."

"So instead of killing mortals for food, you want me to kill a God for revenge." Kenshin looked down to find her leaning up against him slightly, not moving, not wanting to break the light contact.

"You have this whole honor code that makes you want to protect people. Well the people here may not be living, but they still need someone to help them. If you won't do it for me, at least think about doing it for their sakes." She rested a little more firmly against his shoulder "I believe it's your turn. If we're telling life stories...I want to hear yours."

His mouth dropped a bit "It's not that interesting."

"Whatever happened to that whole thing you were telling me about freeing internal demons?" She tilted her head back and looked up at him "It might be wise for you to take your own advice." 

"It's not that great of a story. My parents died when I was very young and I was tossed into the slave trade business as another piece of merchandise. There were three women there that were very kind to me since I was the only child there but they were slaughtered along with everyone else by bandits. Hiko Seijuurou showed up and disposed of them quickly, telling me to find something to do with my life since he had avenged their deaths for me. I wanted to move on but first, I had to come to some closure about the entire event. I ended up burying every body, including the thieves and the traders. He came back and found me there, eventually taking me on as his student. He changed my name from Shinta to Kenshin, saying that my original name wasn't proper for a swordsman."

"Eventually I got caught up in the revolution, wanting to fight for what I thought was right, wanting to protect people by the blade of my sword and while doing that, I took more lives then any single person should. It was during those blood stained years of the revolution when I met Tomoe."

"She was the only one who seemed to understand me and cared for me anyways. I feel in love with her quickly but wouldn't allow myself to show it. A manslayer like myself should have been able to have soft emotions. I was drawn to her, she seemed like the perfect woman. Quiet, polite, she cooked and cleaned and gardened. More importantly, she was a companion for me, she knew about the pain that was tearing me apart and she helped me to deal with it, by making me see the possibility for a new future."

"What happened to her?" Ebony asked as he paused, his eyes filled with old memories and opening wounds.

Kenshin gave her a small smile and touched the lock of hair that had fallen against her cheek, brushing it back with the other ebony strands. "It turns out her family had been hunting me down and she was just a pawn. I had slain her intended husband during the revolution, he was the one who gave me the first scar on my face. They wanted me dead, they wanted to avenge his death. I ended up in a battle with her father and she made a choice. She decided I was worth more to her then her own family and she jumped into the middle of us and killed him herself. I had my eyes closed, was expecting to kill him and I didn't know she had stepped in the middle of us. I ended up killing the only woman I have been able to love. Right before she died in my arms, she took her knife and gave me the other part of the cross. I don't even want those scars to heal, they're reminders of the atonement I must preform before I die. I spent ten years of my life as a wanderer before Kaoru found me and gave me a home and a new family. I've been there ever since, trying to help people to make up for the pain I've caused in my past. That's why there is no possible way I can allow myself to kill, even to feed your people." 

"We're more alike then either one of us wanted to admit." She muttered "Both losing the women that meant the world to us and carrying around the guilt of their deaths and trying to make up for it by helping others."

Kenshin said nothing, but reached out and closed his hand over hers. Ebony didn't resist or pull away. 

  
  


*There you go, that's Ebony's story. I've been working on this and thinking about it for weeks now and just within the past few nights, everything came together and I was able to write it down. Probably because my sister is gone for the week and I didn't have her nagging me to take her places and I was able to sit down and just type. I really hope that I didn't turn her into a Mary Sue, if I did, please let me know and what I can do to fix her because that's not the kind of character I'm going for with her. Oh well, I'm going to bed and actually sleeping for once. Keep reviewing and I'll have the next chapter up, hopefully soon!*


	6. Chapter VI

Ebony Bliss  
  
Rating: Still PG-13. The lemon should be in the next chapter...I know I've been saying that for two chapters now but there's really not much else I can do until that part is over. What's going to happen is that there are going to be two different versions of chapter seven, one to put on here and another NC-17 one that will be posted on another site somewhere that I'll post the link for because I'm not willing to put my account here on the line.   
  
Spoilers: Nothing more then what I've already posted five times....  
  
Other Warnings: It's definitely AU with a few original characters, a somewhat original plot...if it's been done before then yell at me because I haven't read much of the Kenshin fanfiction that's lying around. It may be OOC but I'll try as hard as I can to avoid that.   
  
Archives: None yet...ask me nicely and I might let you have it  
  
Feedback: Please! Just email me at Dark_Izunami@dangerous-minds.com, I'd love to hear what you have to say!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Himora?"  
  
"Yes Ebony?"  
  
"This is probably going to sound ridiculous but can you tell me what your world is like? It's been so long since I've really been able to stay out there; I've almost started to forget about it."  
  
He frowned and looked up at the high ceiling "I'm not sure I understand. What exactly do you want me to tell you?"  
  
She shrugged "I told you it was a stupid question. I guess I was just hoping that you would tell me what makes it so special to you. I watched you for weeks and you never seemed happier then when you were outside, no matter what you were doing out there."  
  
He smiled softly "You're right about that one, that you are. I'm not much to be kept cooped up indoors, I much rather be out in the sunlight, and I don't really care what I'm doing out there as long as I can feel that natural warmth."  
  
"Just tell me...in here it never changes from season to season and every day is dark, from beginning to end. There's no beauty here, there's no life."  
  
"Alright, just let me think for a moment." Kenshin sat up, wrapping his arms around his legs and placing his chin on top, staring off into space, a smile eventually coming to his face "The sun is probably blazing down right now, it happens around this time every summer. The heat drives everyone to hide inside to save their own skins. We have a small spring in the woods about a mile from the dojo and we usually end up running off there to swim and soak for a while. The silky smooth coolness of the water almost makes you forget the discomfort you felt not even an hour before. I've never really told anyone this before now, but I do believe in water spirits, when you're just lying there and letting the current wash over you, it has a life of its own and just draws you in with it."  
  
"Autumn has always been one of my favorite seasons. The leaves are so beautiful when they fall off the trees. During the revolution, I always thought it was ironic that something dead should look so beautiful and bring people so much joy. The smell of the air is always what draws me in though, that crisp smell of spices and smoke. Everyone is canning and bringing in everything they planted, cooking for days and the entire city smells like a big kitchen. We have a garden full of herbs for Miss Megumi and the entire dojo smells of them as they dry out back. Ayame and Sazume are always outside jumping around in the leaf piles, soiling their clothes. If their grandfather was not such a kindhearted man, I feel he would have scolded them on more then one occasion. There was a time last year when all of us just forgot about our chores and dove into the leaves with the two of them, throwing handfuls of the leaves at each other. It was one of the silliest things I have ever seen, four adults, and three children making a genuine mess of themselves. I don't think I'll ever forget about that day though, its little things like that which drive away my nightmares."  
  
"When I was younger, Mother would spend days canning vegetables while Bliss and I played in the leaves, getting our dresses absolutely filthy and smearing mud all over each other. When she was taking care of the pumpkins, she would always put an extra dash of ginger in with it to give it that special autumn kind of scent. It always smelt better then it tasted but Bliss and I never complained. She yelled at us every year for sniffing at our plates instead of eating what she gave us. There was one time I remember when we smuggled up a jar of it and left it sitting in our room, just to smell it all winter long. It rotted before too long and Mother gave us both a good spanking." Ebony's eyes danced with unspent laughter "We really were horrible at times. Since there were two of us, we always found a way to get what we wanted."  
  
"Spiced pumpkin..." Kenshin's eyes closed for a moment "I remember smelling it in homes through the revolution. No matter how much blood stained my clothes, I could forget everything standing outside a door and just sniffing the air. Did it really taste that bad?"  
  
She nodded and gave into the laughter "It may have smelt like the greatest food in the world but pumpkin never tasted any good when my mother cooked it." Two maids came into the room with a plate of food, a glass, and a bottle. Ebony signaled for them to leave it on the table in the center of the room and turned to concentrate solely on Kenshin. "Please, just keep talking."  
  
"If that's what you want." He shifted his position, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "I've always hated watching the fall turn into winter, the leaves covered up a little bit at a time. I've never been thick skinned enough to stand the cold so it's the only time when I'm really stuck inside and I honestly hate it. There aren't as many chores to be done so most of the day is spent doing nothing. The only thing that ever really got to me was one morning when I woke up; I think it was the day before Christmas. My nose was freezing and I was rather disoriented. I wrapped a spare blanket around myself, looked outside, and was nearly blinded. The sunlight was as bright as any summer day and the snow looked like crystals scattered around on the ground. Millions of tiny diamonds glittering and shining as kind of a Christmas present for us all. Miss Kaoru found me standing out there and ended up joining me for the morning. The two of us sat out on the porch huddled under blankets, staring out at the yard. Every time I shifted my head, they sparkled so brightly it was like they were sent from a different world. I've seen it many times since then but something about that day just makes it stand out further in my mind."  
  
"Snow people, snow angles, snowball fights, snow houses..." Ebony looked into his eyes with another smile "winter was always my favorite time of the year because Mother would always stay inside and Bliss and I were free to do what we wanted out of the house. Father would come out every once in awhile, we'd tackle him into a snow bank, and he'd usually find time in his schedule to play with us. He loved the winter just as much as we did and it was the only time he was home to spend time with us. Every other season he was boarding down in the village so he could teach. Mother would always make sure I was dressed warmly and fed properly when he was home so the winter was the only time I really thrived and was able to act like a normal child instead of what I really was." She rested her hand gently on his arm "You forgot spring."  
  
"I can never forget about spring. It's the time of the year when I feel the most alive, when I'm able to come back out into the sunlight after being cooped up all winter. I love the feeling of my toes sinking into the soft gooey mud and the smell of all those new plants and freshly turned gardens. I'd have to say my favorite time of the year is when the cherry blossoms start blooming and the flowers are everywhere. Every yard, road and roof is covered in that thin layer of soft pink petals and the fragrance fills the air. We always take a picnic lunch out with us, and sit under the trees to watch the blossoms fall and the people smile as they watch. Miss Megumi usually makes large batches of potpourri with them so the smell can stay with us longer. I've got this silly habit of sprinkling the petals in with the wash when I'm outside. I think the clothes smell just a little bit fresher and look cleaner that way. Sanosuke laughed the first time he caught me doing it and he hasn't let me live it down yet."  
  
"The village south of us had a cherry blossom festival every year. There was so much dancing, and eating, and noise that I could forget about being different and just pretend to be a normal girl for a little while. Bliss and I always dreamed that one day we'd get to participate in one of the dances and how we'd have all the boys looking at us, wanting to ask Papa if they could walk us home at the end of the day. We never got to, the year we could have be asked, she was gone and I was still training too much to take time out to have any fun. It would have been too painful to go back there without her with me anyways. If Mother had still been alive, she would have told me it was exactly what I deserved, being devil spawned and damned for eternity. I thought about going, just to satisfy her spirit but I had training to do and two hungry men to feed at home. I haven't been since then; I guess it serves me right."  
  
"Ebony, you talk like your mother was justified in treating you like an unwanted visitor in her home. Just because you were born to be heiress to a kingdom of evil doesn't mean you were anything other then a wonderful child at the time. You weren't ruling it then and you hadn't even had contact with your father, you can't keep letting that hang over your head. Didn't Bliss have the same father as you? You act like she was better then you when you two were exactly the same. The only thing different was going to be your futures and those could have been changed. Your mother was mistaken when she made you feel less then the girl you are."  
  
"You mean were." She replied quickly  
  
"No, I meant it how I said it. You're still just as wonderful as you were when you were a child and you should never think otherwise."  
  
"She made me think that all the problems in the world were my fault. Father brought home a book of myths from overseas one time and Mother made me feel like Pandora, like I was the one who unleashed pain and suffering on the planet."  
  
"Pandora?"  
  
"It's a Greek story about how the Gods put a woman on the planet so wonderful that they eventually wanted her to have a fault, everything was too perfect with her around. They sent down a beautiful box and told her not to open it, knowing very well that her curious nature would make her go against their orders. She opened the box only to have disease, sorrow, pain, anger, hatred, and death fly out to take over the world."  
  
"I've heard of that story but you left out the ending."  
  
"That's as far as Mother ever went. It didn't make for the most pleasant bedtime story."  
  
"Miss Megumi told me that story once. Pandora unleashed all those horrible things from the box but there was something left in the box?"  
  
"The end of humanity?"  
  
Kenshin smiled and took her hand in his "Hope was in the box, weak and afraid to leave it. Pandora nurtured that hope until it grew stronger. It was hope that kept her going and gave her the strength she needed to go on living."  
  
"There's no hope here. It flew away as soon as Bliss died."  
  
"There is hope here, if there wasn't you wouldn't be planning your father's demise or trying to feed all these lost souls. The only thing that can take hope away is death and a life that inflicts nothing more then that. You are the hope for those people; you are their strength and their only chance for peace. A world without hope is nothing more then hell."  
  
"The revolution, you always talk about it like that was the hell you were forced to live in. How could it be hell if you had hope for the outcome and for a life after?"  
  
"I told you that the only thing that can take away hope is death and someone who caused only that. All I was in the revolution was a man slayer. I couldn't really live because every day I had to look death in the eye and come out the victor. I forgot what I was fighting for and just lived for the bloodshed in the battles. It was hell for the warriors and I was just the grim reaper, bringing them to their ends. The only spark in that life was Tomoe and I couldn't even preserve that bit of hope, I killed her just like all the others."  
  
"So what's this world? What would you call the life I'm living?"  
  
He shrugged "You seem to have no hope because you can't realize that you are the hope. You are the only person who actually cares about the lost souls trapped here. You're the only one trying to make their lives tolerable and you're trying to ease the pain inside of them. You're trying to save them by putting your own life on the line. This isn't hell; this is a primitive clash of good and evil with the lives of hundreds relying on the outcome."  
  
"Aren't creatures of the night supposed to live in the darkest of worlds though? If hell is supposed to be the most evil of all worlds, what could be worse then this for us? When you're brought over, will this replace your idea of hell?"  
  
He shook his head and smiled "My mortal life is resting in your hands. You have become my hope, just like you are to everyone else here. This will never be a hell to me because as long as you're here and willing to protect your people, hope will never die out."  
  
She turned away from him. "You're too certain of your own path."  
  
"I'm not certain about my path. You can never be sure of your future; the only things a person can control are their actions and their choices. Everything else has yet to be determined."  
  
"So what happens when we bring you over? What choices will you make then?"  
  
"The same ones I have already. I'm sorry Ebony but I will not let myself kill anyone just for their blood to feed your people. I'm sorry you trusted all this with me and put all your hope into the fact that I was still a manslayer but times have changed and so have I. I will be willing to fight by your side to bring your father to his demise but I will not take life ever again, I'm not willing to go back to being a servant of hell."  
  
"So that's it. If you were brought over you'd just become another member of the village, another mouth to feed who refuses to help himself. What's the point in taking you over when you'd be more trouble then value?"  
  
"That's not for me to decide." He shrugged  
  
Ebony sighed "I can't do it. I'm going to keep you here but I can't see any point in bringing you over to a life where you'd just be another burden. Come here for a second and trust me."  
  
Kenshin knelt by her side only to feel the sharp pain of her fangs puncturing the tender skin of his neck and drawing out some of his blood. His head began to spin, his vision blurring and his balance faltering before she removed herself and pressed a clean napkin to the area to stop the bleeding. "You're forever marked but you're still a mortal. I'll tell Ryote that you were acting suspiciously so I brought you over before the ceremony. That should be enough to satisfy him and the rest of the village."  
  
Kenshin fell over onto his side on the mattress, his eyes drifting shut "Thank you." He whispered as his eyes closed and his breathing became heavier, steadier.  
  
Ebony touched her lips, still tinted with his blood "So sweet." She murmured, looking at him with a new hunger in her eyes. "Sleep well Kenshin, find your hope in your dreams, don't trust tainted vampire with something so precious."  
  
*Ha! It only took about two months to write this part, I think I'm doing pretty good. The story of Pandora's Box has several different forms and I was just trying to think of how you would tell it to a child and that seemed to be the easiest way. I know it's probably not completely accurate but the main part is still there. Now you people be on your merry little ways and I'll work on getting you some lemony goodness before Christmas.* 


End file.
